Molding machine



May 20 1924.

A w. LEWIS MOLDING MACHINE Filed Jan. l5 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet I W. LEWIS May 2o 1924.

MOLDING MACHINE Filed Jan.

16 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W/TNESS:

Patented May 20, 1924.

UIED .STTS

WILFRED LEWIS, OF HAVERFORD, PENNSYIiVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 THE TABOR MANU- FAC'.'LUBIIISTG- COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A. CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MOLDING MACHINE.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILFRED LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Haverford, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and use-ful Improvement in Molding Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in the machine shown, described and claimed in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 1,245,114, granted to the same lVilfred Lewis and John T. Ramsden, October 30th, 1917, and its principal Objectis to simplify the construction by the elimination of parts and to provide for the accomplishment of better results with fewer parts, utilizing certain of the parts for the performance of additional functions and providing simpleV mechanism for controlling their action as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The invention will be claimed at the end hereof but will be first described in .connection with the embodiment of it chosen lfrom among other embodiments for the sake of illustration in the accompanying drawings forming part hereof and in which- Y Figure 1 is a side view of so much and of such parts of a machine of thetype shown in said patent as are necessary for an understanding of the invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are side views, partly lin section, illustrating -features of the inven-' tion and showing the parts in two positions and in Fig. 3 the xed part or housing of the machine H, to which the guide rods 2 are firmly attached as at a, is shown at a lower level than in Fig. 2, in order to illustrate the raised position of the sliding frame.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the upper part of the mechanism shown at the right hand side in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation of a loaded check valve thru which the air from the 'pattern drawing cylinder passes to vexhaust as indicatedr in Figs. 2 and 3.

In the drawings 1 is a frame arranged to slide vertically on the fixed standards 2, for example, in respect to the housing H. 3 are rollover arms that are' pivoted to the sliding frame 1 as at 4. 5 Vis a shockless jarring mechanism and it is arranged at one side of the frame 1. On the other side of the frame 1 is arranged a flask support Serial No. 529,779.

6. This flask support is designed to receive and level the mold and the check valve, detailed in Fig. 5, by trapping air at a predetermined pressure in the pattern drawing cylinder. 23 serves to carry the weight of thel sliding frame with the roll over frame in pattern drawing position, as will presently appear. In use, when the arms 3 are in the position shown, they are detached from the pattern plate 7 and from the flask which is superposed upon the pattern plate. The mold is then rammed b-y the mechanism 5 and thereafter the arms 3 are connected with the pattern plate and the frame 1 is lifted and held at rest while the flask is clamped to the pattern plate. Then the arms are turned over, the mold is deposited on thev flask sup-port 6, held firmly in position by leveling wedges andv unclamped from the pattern plate.

But, before unclamlping, care must be ltaken to support the sliding frame, 1, with its roll over-arms and pattern-plate attached, so that there may be as little change as possible in the distribution of weight tending to roll the mold or spring the supporting mechanism when the flask is unclamped from the patternl plate to draw the pattern.

Now, after lifting the mold fromv the jarring-.table and rolling it over, ,Valve lever 11 is turned to exhaust from cylinder 23, and the air from this cylinder passes thru the pipe 30 under the check valve 31 loaded by the spring 32 so that the balancing pressure within the cylinder may vnot fall below that required to' support the dead weight of the sliding frame. The unbalanced weight, co-ming down upon the 'mold support 6, will, therefore, be substantially no morenor less than rthe weight of the mold itself, whatever that may be, and when vvun'clamped from thek pattern plate, there will be no elastic reactions because there will 'be no change inthe distribution of the total load raised and lowered by the pattern drawing cylinder. Having thus set the mold in position, the frame 1 is again lifted so that the arms 3 draw the pattern. The frame is lifted by the cylinder 23 acting thru bell crank, 19 and link 15, and the rollover arms are turned in respect to the frame 1 b-y the piston and cylinder 8 acting on the arm 3a forming part of the rollover arms 3.

According to the application there is but one cylinder, 23, employed to raise and lower the sliding frame. This acts after jarring, to lift the mold a short distance, suHicient to release the stop, 13, so that the handle, 12, may be turned to roll over, after which, valve handle, 11, is turned to exhaust and the mold is lowered on to the support, 6, set to receive it by the ratchet segment as indicated, or by other equivalent means. To obtain the full pattern draft it is important that the support 6, should meet the descending mold just before the sliding frame comesto the end of its downward movement, provision for which is made by said ratchet adjustment. 1t is also -necessary when the pattern has been drawn and the arms 3 rolled back over the jarring table to drop the pattern plate upon said table and to lower the arms, 3, a short distance further, to avoid contact in jarring. But the pressure bottled up in cylinder 23 by the check valve, 31, would not permit this movement of the sliding` frame and must be released, provision for which is made by the lever, 37, pivoted at, 38, to the check valve body and designed to lift the stem, 39, against the load-spring, 32, thus allowing the check valve. 31, to open freely and pass the air trapped in cylinder, 23, thru the exhaust passage, 40. This release of pressure is accomplished automatically by the roll over mechanism, as, for example, by the pin or lug, 41, attached to the end of the'link, 33, so as to meet the valve lever, 37, just before the crank, 34, meets its stop position. This insures a limited movement of the valve lever, 37, sufficient to permit the check valve, 31, to open as the rollover arms come vinto position over. the jarring table, and, it also guards against any downward movement of the sliding frame, 1, until the rolling movement has been completed, thus causing the pattern plate 7 to meet the jarring table parallel to the latter surface, and giving time to blow ofi" sand if any lodges on the jarring table under the pattern plate.

According to the present invention there isa single piston and cylinder 23 operative to raise and lower the sliding frame` with a dwell between these movements. In the upward movement the flask is lifted from onto the support 6, and then the pattern drawn. A description will now be given of the valve locking gear. The valve 11 is turned in one direction to operate the shockless jarring mechanism 5 and in the other direction to lift the frame 1 through the intervention of the piston and cylinder 23. The valve 12 is turned in one direction to control the vibrator, as for example to engage the notch 12a and in the other direction to roll the arms 3 over through the intervention of the piston and cylinder 8. As has been said it is important that the valve 11 be operated ahead of the valve 12 in order to lift the frame 1 and the flask and mold carried by thel arms 7 from the part 5 before the arms. are rolled over. For this purpose the lock 13, Fig. 4, is provided. In Fig. 2 the lock 13 is shown as in position to prevent the handle of the valve 12 from being turned into the position which brings about the rolling overI of the arms 3. The lock 13 is carried by a rod 14 having yielding or spring connection with one arm' 15 of a bell crank lever, the other arm 1G of which is controlled by a projection 17 carried by a fixed portion of the machine, housing H. The bell crank lever and valves and rod 14 are carried by or connected with the sliding frame of the ma- `chine. Vhen the movable frame is in its lowest position, as shown in Fig. 2, the valve 12 is locked and the arms 3 are in the position shown in Fig. 1, so that it is impossible to actuate the valve 12 toroll over the arms, but when the valve 11 has been actuated to lift the frame 1 suiliciently to raise the arms 3 and mold or flask from the part 5, then the bell crank lever assumes the position shown in Fig. 3 in which the lock 13 is withdrawn clear' of the valve 12 which may now be actuated to rollover the arms 3 and udeposit the flask on the support 6. Then the valve 11 can be further actuated to lift the frame 1 and arms 3 and draw the pattern.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that the piston and cylinder 23 do the4 work of both balancing and actuating thus simplifying the construction, and it will also be evident that this result is dependent upon valve, locking gear of substantially the character described, and also upon the introduction of a loaded check valve to trap air at a predetermined pressure when lowering the mold onto its leveling support and automatic mechanism to release this pressure when lowering the pattern plate onto the jarring table.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates that modific-ations may be made in details of construc-v tion and arrangement without departing from the spirit of the invention which is not limited as to those matters or otherwise than its stroke in two movements with a dwell' between them, a second piston and cylinder operative during the dwell, valve locking gear responsive to the movement of a sliding 'frame and operative to compel the operation of said pistons and cylinders in the order named, a sliding iframe having rollover arms, connections for causing the irst mentioned piston and cylinder in each of its movements to lift the frame and arms, and connections for causing the second mentioned piston and cylinder to roll the arms over.

2. In a molding machine the combination of a sliding frame, rollover arms, actuating mechanism for said parts, a valve for controlling the actuating mechanism to lift the frame, a valve for controlling the actuating mechanism to turn the arms, a lock for the L last mentioned valve, and a projection on the loaded check-valve fortrapping air in the cylinder to balance the weight of the frame and arms, substantially as described.

4. In a molding machine the combination of a sliding frame, jar ramming mechanism on one side of the frame, a flask support on the other side of the frame,l roll-over arms pivoted to the frame and adapted to deposit a ask on the support and a pattern plate on the jar-ramming mechanism, apiston and cylinder for lowering the frame by exhaust, a loaded check valve for controlling the cylinder-exhaust to trap air, and provisions for automatically releasing the check-valve to permit the arms to descend below the level of thel pattern plate when deposited on the jar-ramming mechanism.

5. In a molding machine the combination of a sliding frame, jar-ramming mechanism on one side thereof, a ilask support onthe other side thereof, roll-over arms pivoted to said frame, a roll-over piston and cylinder for the arms, a single piston and cylinder for pressure raising and exhaustlowering the frame, a loaded check valve for the exhaust to balance the frame in pattern drawing position, means for automatically releasing the check-valve in jarring position and mechanical interlock valve gear to compel raising of the frame prior to roll-over of ,they arms.

WILFRED LEWIS. 

